-- Cook along with your favourite TV chefs in Dishing It Up 7:30pm Thursdays from 29 September on SBS and SBS Food. All episodes streaming free on SBS On Demand. For recipes and more head to . ---
Tell us about yourselves.
Jonathan: I'm an almost 30-year-old physiotherapist who was born and raised in Sydney, and looks the way I do because of my Egyptian background. My parents moved here from Cairo in the 80s to pursue the Great Australian Dream and for that, I'm very grateful.
When I'm not in the clinic fixing people's ouchies, I love to cook for friends and family, and do other food-affiliated activities. I consume far too much content from our streaming overlords (shout out to SBS on Demand) and I try to keep my brain and body happy by practising what I preach - getting to the gym, bouldering on occasion and learning to roller skate.
Hari: I'm an easy-going guy who doesn't mind having a crack in the kitchen when it's called upon. Outside that, I work in media and am hoping that some of my partners pick this show up.
DISHING IT UP
Dishing It Up | Episode guide
What is one fun fact about yourself?
Jonathan: I'm blind in my right eye – because of this, I feel like my other senses are slightly heightened and this gives me an edge in the kitchen. I'm basically like a budget daredevil.
Hari: My background is a solid case of cultural ambiguity – I am half Irish and half Indian and love to mimic my parents. The accents have gotten me out of a few issues.
How did you end up being on a reality cooking series?
Jonathan: I'm still not entirely sure…but it all started with sending Hari a screenshot of SBS Food's casting call on Facebook with a "whaddya think?"
What do you like or dislike about cooking?
Hari and Jonathan have some strong thoughts on the celebrity chefs' cooking. Source: SBS Food
Jonathan: Cooking is one of my favourite things to do because it incorporates so many things that I find interesting – its culture, history, geography, anatomy, physiology and biochemistry all on a plate.
It's so much easier to spend hours researching, prepping, cooking and cleaning than it is to say, 'I love you'.
Also, it's so much easier to spend hours researching, prepping, cooking and cleaning than it is to say, "I love you".
What was your favourite moment from the series?
Hari: I never thought I would do anything like this and the whole experience was awesome. That being said, the best moment was ripping on Jamie Oliver's attempted bolognaise sauce; possibly the worst pasta dish I have attempted.
What was your favourite dish from the series?
Jonathan: Nadiya's chicken stuffed doughnut – it never occurred to me that it was so easy to make savoury doughnuts at home. Since then, I have been stuffing whatever my heart desires into balls of dough and then deep frying it.
TOO MANY REASONS
Why Dishing It Up is the new must-see for home cooks
What was the best skill you learned?
Jonathan: I learnt what "blind baking" was from baking royalty, Dame Mary Berry. I assumed it meant to use the force and trust your instinct when baking, but it really means to bake the crust without any filling.
If you could have any celebrity chef cook for you, who would you choose?
Jonathan: I can't pick one – Anthony Bourdain would have some amazing stories and an express train to Flavortown with Guy Fieri would be a blast, but the food-truck pioneer, Roy Choi, would be my Choi-ce.
Hari: Gordon Ramsay – I just want him to call me an idiot sandwich and I don't even have to cook.
What is your desert island dish?
Jonathan: The dessert would need good structural integrity to avoid melting into the ocean, so fairy floss, ice-cream and meringue are out. Maybe a doughnut? They're pretty buoyant…wait, did that say 'desert'?
Hari: Chilli mud crab curry with roti – soooooo good.
